Harry Potter and the False Ghost
by Unicorn Lady
Summary: It's Harry's fifth year at Hogwarts. He makes a very interesting friend. Nothing is what it seems. HP Labyrinth Crossover.


**A/N:** Well, I decided to post the whole thing as I posted the first part of the prequel today. If you want to read it, you have to go to Movies, Labyrinth, and look for The Searcher, or better yet, click under my name. Thanks to all af you who reviewed the first time, you know who you are!!!!!   
As always, please R/R and tell me if I'm doing a good job or if this sucks.

And before I forget,

**DISCLAIMER **- All characters from Potterverse belong to the magnificent J.K. Rowling. Sarah, Jareth, and everything Labyrinth belong to Jim Henson Productions. I only own Caridwen and the plot.

**Harry Potter and the False Ghost** **Part 1**

"Oh, Hi! My name? Caridwen, but my friends call me Cari. Yes, I live here in the great Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I studied here a long time ago, but no, I'm not a teacher. I am just a lonely ghost. What you said? The Gray Lady? No, I'm not her either. She is very nice though. She is witty and funny…. Between you and me, I think Nick, you know, Nearly Headless Nick, has a crush on her. I think he's had it for the past 150 years….." 

"Very few people in Hogwarts know of my existence. Why you ask? I can not be seen by most people. So far, only him and the Headmaster. I guess I was always a shy person when I was alive, I think it stuck when I died. How? If you go to the trophy room, you can see my name in a Special Award for Services to the School - there is a list of people who gave their lives defending Hogwarts. Same old story….. Dark Wizard wants to conquer the wizarding world…. Voldemort is not the first one, you know…." 

"How did I met him? I saw him for the first time just before he was sorted. We were a group of about 20 ghosts and were discussing a problem with Peeves. I did not pay too much attention to him, because I thought he couldn't see me." 

"The first time I talked to him was in his second year. I was attending Nearly Headless Nick's 500th Deathday party. I was talking to Moaning Myrtle, you know, the ghost that hunts the toilet in the girl's 1st floor bathroom, when I noticed all three of them looking at us. Oh, yes, Hermione and Ron attended the party as well. Myrtle went to talk to them, when I noticed that Harry was still looking in my direction. I turned to see who was behind me, but I was the only one there. That's when I realized he could see me." 

"Days after the party, I found Harry looking sad. I decided to talk to him. I asked what was wrong, and he started babbling about his friends thinking he was Slytherin's heir, and that many students were afraid of him because he is a parselmouth. So we kept meeting in the corridors from time to time to catch up. I have seen more of him lately, but I have no idea why…" 

"Who are you talking to?" Cari turned her head to the voice and smiled. "Oh, hi Nick! Just talking to this cat. He saw me waking up Harry and telling him to go to bed, so he got curious and started talking." Crookshanks just yawned and stretched himself on the couch He blinked, jumped to the floor and strutted to the stairs leading to the girl's bedrooms. 

"You know what is strange?" Cari started saying to Nick, "The cat just told me that he sleeps in an empty bed in the 5th year girl's bedroom. Guess who's?" Nearly Headless Nick gave her a puzzled look and said "Don't tell me, yours?" Caridwen nodded affirmatively, and said "I don't know why, but no one has slept on that bed since…." "Since you died, I know", completed Nick. 

"Talking about strange things, you haven't been to this common room for a while. You started coming back here what, five years ago? I wonder what could have made you do that? Or maybe the right question is who?" said Nick in a teasing tone. 'Thank the Goddess ghosts don't blush' she thought. 

But Nick continued the teasing "I have noticed that you and the young Potter are becoming chums…" Cari now was starting to get furious on his undertone "Just because I decide to try to have a living friend does not mean anything. Besides, you know that the reason I never talk to anyone alive is because only animals can see me. Somehow, Harry can." And without another word she left through the walls of the common room. 

The next day Harry, Ron and Hermione went down to breakfast. On their way to the Great Hall, Harry saw Cari from the corner of his eye, and fell behind couple of steps from his friends to wave hello. She waved back sadly, and continued on her way. Harry noticed this and frowned. "What's the matter Harry? You seem worried about something…" asked a concerned Hermione. Ron teased Harry "Maybe he is trying to figure out how to ask Cho out for next trip to Hogsmeade…" Harry laughed at the comment and entered into the Great Hall for breakfast. 

"Cari? Are you here?" Harry kept looking around the empty room, until he saw a gray shadow in a corner. "What's the matter?" he asked. "Nothing, just a bit tired, that's all. Oh, don't you look at me like that. I know ghosts are not supposed to feel tired, but I really do" she replied. "Are you going to watch the quidditch game today?" Caridwen smiled at him and said "You know I would not miss it!" and playfully fogged Harry's glasses. "You better leave now, don't want you to be late for Divination!" laughing at the funny face he made as an answer. "All right, I'll go, but we'll talk later, OK?" said Harry, while waving her good-bye. 

Harry was running through the hallways. He might make it to Divination on time after all. He climbed the stairs faster than he thought possible, and crashed into the cushioned chair next to Ron. Ron looked at Harry. He was panting, trying to catch his breath. "Good luck catching your breath in this place!" he thought. Once he saw Harry's composure went back to normal, he asked "Harry, is there something wrong? Hermione and myself haven't seen you around that much lately. I mean, you don't hang out with us like we used to…" 

Suddenly, Ron noticed that Harry kept quiet, but he was blushing. Ron asked tauntingly again "Maybe there is something I should know about? Or better yet, a someone?" Harry blushed more intense now. "Bingo!" thought Ron. "Sooo, who is the lucky girl? Cho, perhaps?" he asked with a wicked grin. "No, you don't know her…" Harry answered quickly, thinking "No one does, except me." 

At that moment, professor Trelawney entered the room past the curtains, and stopped at their table. "Here we go again!" thought Harry. Professor Trelawney just pointed at Harry and said "You will think your friend is dead, when in reality is not!" Ron looked at Harry, and all he could say was "Huh?" Harry answered with a shrug. They got their tarot cards ready and started another session of 'make up your doom as you go' as they liked to call it. 

Nearly Headless Nick was roaming through the hallways when he saw Cari. "Going my way?" he asked. Cari jumped and turning to face Nick, who was looking at her curiously, said "You scared me. I was immersed in my own thoughts. Where are you going?" Nick gave a suspicious glance for a second, and said "To the quidditch game, of course". She smiled and responded "In that case, it will be an honor to accompany you, sir" to what he offered his arm. She laced hers within his and floated to the quidditch field talking animatedly. 

Today's game was against Hufflepuff. It was the first game of the season, and the Griffindors were looking forward to win the cup this year, as last years quidditch games were canceled due to the Triwizard Tournament. Nick and Carry floated to some seats that were at the upper row. Cari looked at the sky. Even that still was late afternoon, it was beginning to get dark because of heavy clouds rolling in. She commented to Nick "I just hope it doesn't rain. I used to hate playing quidditch in a storm" She saw Hermione sit in front of them, talking to Nick, while ignoring her. "How can she ignore me if she can not even see me?" thought Cari wondering what made her think that. 

She heard a "Hi Hermione!" coming from the field. Ron was enthusiastically waving at Hermione from the field. He was the new Griffindor keeper and surprisingly was even better that Wood. Hermione yelled back "Good Luck in the game!". Ron looked at Harry, who appeared like he was trying to find something in the crowd, and said "Did you saw Hermione? She is over there", and pointed to where she was sitting. Harry looked in that direction and saw Hermione, noticing also that behind her was Nearly Headless Nick and Cari. He smiled and waved, screaming "Hi!", not looking at his friend Hermione, but at a grayish silhouette right behind her. 

Nick noticed that Harry's reaction when his friend waved back, was a little bit like disappointment. But when Cari waved right after her, his face lit up with a big smile. It was time to start the game, so everybody went to their positions. Madame Hooch blew the whistle, and everybody went into the air. Hermione, Nick and Cari kept cheering their team, when Cari saw lightning far away. 

Not 10 minutes into the game, when it started raining heavily. The clouds seemed to get darker, and the rain heavier. Lee could be heard "Great catch by Griffindor keeper Ron Weasly! Possibly the best keeper in Griffindor History!" As the game continued, the rain seemed to get heavier. "Potter dives against Hufflepuff defense and yes! He has the golden snitch! Game over! Hufflepuff 40, Griffindor 190" 

Harry landed his firebolt in the field. Before anyone could get near him, Cari saw the sky and then saw Harry. "Oh my, Nick! Do you see that?" Ghosts have a very different sense of time. They can make seconds look like hours and centuries look like minutes. Nick saw what Cari was pointing to. "That lightning bolt is going to hit him!" whispered Nick. Cari knew she had to do something. She floated to Harry as fast as she could and screamed "Harry, watch out!" and tried to push him out of the way. 

Miraculously, somehow she managed to shove Harry, who fell sitting down on the floor. Cari suddenly saw a blinding bright light, as she realized she had been hit by the lightning. She could feel herself being pushed heavily into the ground, hearing a loud thump as her arm reached the floor. "Hey, that hurts!" thought Cari while saying out loud "Ouch!" When she looked at Harry to see how he was, he looked like he had seen a ghost, all he could muster was "Cari?" 

She was feeling wobbly, but managed to say "Harry, what's going on?" With amazement he responded "Cari, you are solid!" and then she fainted.   


**Part 2**   
  


Cari woke up in the hospital wing. "What happened? Why am I here?" she thought. She noticed for the first time that she was solid. She touched herself, she was warm. She looked at her arms, they were flesh and bone! 

Madame Pomfrey entered the room and said "Oh, good! You are awake. Eat this, it will make you feel better." and gave her some chocolate. Caridwen realized for the first time how hungry she was, so she started eating, savoring every bite. 

Professor Dumbledore entered the room. "Young lady, I have some questions for you. First of all, let me present myself. I am Albus Dumbledore, headmaster at Hogwarts. I am very curious to learn how you managed to appear in the middle of a quidditch field right after lightning stoke the ground." 

Caridwen swallowed the last piece of chocolate and answered "My name is Caridwen Blantyre. I was a student at Hogwarts 317 years ago. I died defending the castle during the attack of Valkor the Dark. You can find my name in the trophy room. I have been a ghost in Hogwarts since the day I died. How this happened, I have no idea." 

Dumbledore looked at her with a twinkle in his blue eyes and said, "You said your name is Blantyre? I remember now! You are the student that was left for dead because your body was never found." "But that's impossible! I saw my own casket. I attended my funeral. I have been living inside the walls of Hogwarts since I died. You can ask any of the ghosts in the castle. They all know me, including Peeves." said Cari. 

Dumbledore continued "I'm afraid that your casket was empty. It was a symbolic burial. Is all in the headmaster records. By this time, you should know that no magic spell can bring the dead back to life, so who is to say that you were really dead at all?" Caridwen did not respond. Her face was showing absolute shock. 

Dumbledore kept talking "I talked earlier with Mr. Potter, which to my surprise, seemed to know who you are. Sir Nicholas helped fill in the blanks. When comparing notes I found some strange things. First, Harry said that you did not feel like any of the other ghosts, instead of feeling like a bucket of iced water, you feel warmer, like tepid water. Second, Sir Nicholas tells me that the only living thing that could see you are animals and the castle headmaster, and Harry is the first human who is able to do so." He noticed a faint blush starting to appear in Caridwen's face while asking "What is going to happen to me now?" 

He stiffed a chuckle, and Cari noticed that the twinkle in his blue eyes increased. "If I remember correctly, your records indicate that you died at age 15, which makes you a 5th year. Also, I learned that you are a Griffindor, and that your bed is the one that is currently empty in the 5th year girl's dormitory. I suggest you go to your room and rest. You will be joining the 5th years in their classes." 

"What about school materials and such?" Caridwen asked. "Your mother refused to accept that you were dead, so she wanted you to have your things when you returned. We still have your belongings in the castle, so I'll send them to your room. You will go tomorrow with Professor McGonagall to Diagon Alley. There you will buy schoolbooks, and any other supplies you think you will need. Later, if you want, professor McGonagall can leave you at Hogsmeade, where you can return with the rest of the students. Oh, I hope you will join us for dinner at the Great Hall tonight." 

Caridwen reclined her head in the pillows. Being alive again was going to be a lot of work. She started to wonder if it was worth it. What was she thinking? Of course it was! She noticed that professor Dumbledore was about to leave, when he turned around and said "Did I forgot to mention you have visitors? I have selected a small group of students to help you readjust." Then, he turned to the door and said "It's all right, you can come in!" 

The door opened and she saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione coming into the room. Dumbledore said "If you excuse me, I have other things to attend to" and he left. She turned to Harry and with a smile she said "Hi Harry! I already know your friends, but would you mind introducing me?" Harry nodded and turned to his friends "Ron, Hermione, This is Caridwen." "My friends call me Cari." And shook hands with both of them. Harry asked "What are you going to do now?" She proceeded to explain everything that Dumbledore told her. The three friends smiled and Harry said "Guess which three students have been selected to help you readjust?" 

Hermione said "I could go with you to Diagon Alley, if you want. We can get to know each other better. You have no idea how much I have wished for another Griffindor girl in our year." Cari said with a big smile "Thanks!" Harry and Ron looked at Hermione like she was an alien and she said "What? This is girl's stuff. Unless you feel like buying clothes all day…" Both responded with a shake of the head and saying "No, thank you!" making the girls laugh. 

Madame Pomfrey came in the room and said "You are good to go with your friends" and smiling she shooed them out of the room. They kept talking all the way to the Griffindor tower. Once they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, Hermione said the password "lizard guts" and went up the stairs to the common room. 

There was a sudden silence once they entered the common room. Aware that everybody was staring at her, she said "Hi. My name is Caridwen Blantyre. I will be rejoining Hogwarts as a 5th year Griffindor. I hope to get to know you better. Now, if you excuse me, I am still tired, and I will like to lie down. See you at dinner." And she walked along with Hermione to the stairs leading to the 5th year girl's bedroom. Ron looked at Harry in amazement and said "Wow! That took some guts!" as they went to talk to his brothers Fred and George. 

Once they got into their bedroom, Caridwen stopped in front of the mirror. She hasn't seen her own reflection in ages. She could barely remember what she looked like. She walked towards the mirror, afraid of what she might see. What she saw was a fairly pretty girl, fair skin, heart shaped face, blue-gray eyes and dark brown hair with a soft wave that came down to her waist. By no means she was a gorgeous girl, but she wasn't bad looking either. 

She turned to see her bed, and at the footsteps she saw her old trunk. She saw that Hermione was looking for something in her closet, so she opened it and saw some of her old dresses, old letters, a small picture, and a golden chain with a small golden key. She smiled "At least I have my Gringott's vault key" She then proceeded to take out her old dresses, which were saved with magic, so they did not appear old at all. Hermione gasped at the first look of the dresses and said "They look like something a princess would wear!" making Cari blush. 

She responded "In a sense, I was. My father was a very rich feudal lord. He was a muggle, hence my clothes. My mother was a witch. I love them dearly, and miss them. Would you like to see a picture of them?" Hermione nodded, and leaving the rich red velvet dress on the bed, Cari went back to the trunk and took out the small painting. There she saw a couple waving at them. He was blonde and had very intense blue-gray eyes. Her mother was smiling, and Hermione noticed a strong resemblance to her mother. 

Hermione gave the picture back to Cari, which she put on her night table. She saw that Hermione was looking in her closet, and asked "What are you doing?" Hermione took her head out of her closet with a triumphant look and said "You can use some of my clothes until tomorrow. Just lay down and rest. I will wake you up half an hour before we have to go down for dinner. If there is anything else you need, please let me know." Hermione was opening the door to leave when Cari called "Hermione?" "Yes?" "Thank you." was the last thing Cari said before falling asleep. Hermione smiled and closed the door gently after her. 

Hermione opened the door carefully to not disturb Cari. As she entered, she saw that Cari was already awake, talking to Parvati and Lavender. As soon as Cari saw Hermione getting into the room, she said "If you excuse me, I think I'll go and get ready for dinner", took her borrowed clothes and went to the bathroom. 

Immediately after she got back to the bedroom, Hermione looked anxiously at her. "What happened? We only have 5 more minutes to go down." With a little embarrassment, Cari responded "I'm sorry. I did not realized how much I needed taking a shower. I lost track of time. Could you help me with my hair? I don't have a wand, and I'm not sure what styles are in use now." Hermione just smiled and responded "Sure!" 

Hermione and Cari were chatting amicably down the stairs from their bedroom to the common room. As soon as they entered, they heard Ron, "Well, about time! Let's go, I'm starving!" Hermione saw him and with an amused tone said "Ron, you are always hungry" and trailed off with him, none of them noticing that they left Harry and Cari behind. Cari looked at Harry "What was that all about?" Harry just shrugged, and she continued "And they keep insisting that they don't like each other? Funny way to show it" making both of them try to stiff fits of laughter as they hurried down to the Great Hall. 

As they were walking down to the Great Hall, Harry said "You know, it's kind of strange not looking for you in the corridors." She laughed and responded "I know. I always looked forward to mealtimes just to wave hello to you." 

She went silent for a moment, and he noticed that she was serious when she said "I was talking to Parvati and Lavender, and they were saying that Hermione and Ron were a little cross at you because you were not spending much time with them lately. I put two and two together, and, and…" she blushed a little, and continued "I know I should be mad at you, even madder at myself, but for some reason I feel flattered. Thank you." "For what?" asked Harry, suddenly realizing he was starting to turn pink. "For wanting to be my friend, when you already have the top 2 best friends in the world" she replied. Harry whispered in her ear "You are wrong. I have the top 3 best friends in the world", making her blush more, making her glad that they arrived at the doors. 

When they entered the Great Hall, the chatter that could be heard suddenly stopped. It started again, but Cari noticed that now was softer and people were pointing and trying to look at them. Cari asked Harry "Is it like this every time you come to eat?" At what Harry responded with amusement "It's not me who they are interested in. It's you." trying to hide some of the laughter. It was good that someone else took the spotlight for a change. He saw her stiffen up and told her "Just give them a couple of days. Then the novelty will pass and everything will be back to normal. I know, I've been there" and Harry lead her to Ron and Hermione, which were waving at them. 

They sat on the table, Cari seated between Hermione and Harry where Dumbledore rose and spoke "I just have a special announcement to make. I know that there have been a lot of rumors flying around about a new student. Yes, she appeared out of nowhere earlier today after the end of the quidditch game. No, she was not a ghost, no one can come back to life. We don't know what happened, but be assured she is alive and well. She will go back to the year and house she was when she disappeared. She is to be treated as any student. Just think of her as a peer that had to take some days off. Now, let's eat!" 

At that moment, there was some snickering coming from the Slytherin table and Malfoy shouted "Yeah, just an absence of over 300 years, but who's counting?" Harry could feel the anger building in him, and was about to say something when he heard "Shut up, Malfoy" coming from next to him. Harry, Ron and Hermione turned to look at Cari, and she said sheepishly "Sorry, but I always wanted to say that" making the friends laugh, and they started to enjoy their dinner. Once they were finished, Cari said, "I think I have eaten enough to last 300 years more." The friends laughed at the comment and stood up to go to their common room. 

Malfoy walked up to them, Crabbe and Goyle right behind him. He stopped in front of Cari and said "I thought that in over 300 years you could have learned to choose friends" with a snicker. Harry was about to take a step forward, but Cari held him by an arm, saying "Let me take care of him." She walked slowly up to Draco, with a mischievous smirk on her face, her face very close to his. She was playfully sliding her index finger all across his chest, and with a flirting tone said "Ah, but I have learned lots of things during that time." She moved even closer to him, making him nervous, her lips creating a menacing smile very close to his, and continued with her voice becoming cold as ice "And many of them will make your spine crawl out of your body without giving it a second thought." 

At that point Draco went pale, and she touched his nose teasingly. She turned to her friends, which were a funny sight, all big eyes with open mouths, and said "Let's go." They left, Draco unable to move or say anything, still in shock, his mind torn between slapping or kissing her. 

They arrived to the portrait, still silent. Cari said the password and they went up the stairs to their common room. Once they got there, her friends seemed to come out of a trance. Harry said "How did you do that?", while Hermione said "That was incredible!" and Ron "Brilliant!" at the same time. Ron said "I don't know about you, but I think this makes it official. Our trio has become a quartet." They all laughed and Cari said "Just for the record, I was very shy when I, how shall I put it, disappeared. I decided that now I have a second chance, so shyness will have to go. I just remembered something I heard: 'If you got it, work it!', so I decided to have a little fun." 

Hermione said "We better go to sleep now. We have a busy day at Diagon Alley tomorrow. We can meet somewhere in Hogsmeade after we are finished." Leading Cari to the girls bedroom while Cari said to the boys "Good night! See you tomorrow" between laughs and giggles. 

Harry said to Ron "That was weird", while they walked to their bedroom. They changed into their pajamas, turned the lights off and got in bed. In the middle of the darkness Ron said "Harry?" "Mmm?" "She surely knows how to work it." Harry could feel his face get extremely flushed while he thought "Yes, she does", and drifted to sleep with a smirk on his face. 

**Part 3******

"Wake up sleepy head! You don't want to be late for breakfast, do you?" Hermione shook her new friend awake. Cari opened her eyes and became disoriented. She saw Hermione and all the events from the last day came back to her. She was alive! With that happy thought, she got out of bed, and asked Hermione "At what time are we leaving?" Hermione answered "Since we are going to Diagon Alley, I'm assuming we are leaving earlier than everybody else. That way we will have time to have two to three hours in Hogsmeade." 

The girls were having breakfast when professor McGonagall approached them. "Good, you are early. Let me know when you are finished, the earlier we leave, the earlier we come back and you go to Hogsmeade." The girls looked at each other and said in unison "We are ready." Professor McGonagall responded "Very well. We will go to Hogsmeade to the Three Broomsticks. We will go to Diagon Alley from there by floo powder. 

They got into a carriage that took them right in front of The three Broomsticks. They entered the establishment, greeted Madam Rosmerta, and professor McGonagall put some floo powder into the fireplace. She looked at the girls and said, "We are going to The Leaky Cauldron. You girls go first." Cari and Hermione nodded and holding hands said in unison "The Leaky Cauldron!" Cari felt like everything was spinning at the same time she was being pulled by her waist. They came to an abrupt stop, and almost fell on their faces. They were recovering a little when the professor came right after them. 

Professor McGonagall said "We need to get to Diagon Alley first. We will go to the bank, where you can get money. Then we will go and get your things." Cari was looking at Hermione and asked McGonagall "Professor, could it be possible to have some time to buy muggle clothes? I'm afraid my muggle clothes went out of style" with a sheepish smile. Professor McGonagall looked at her with what seemed to be -excitement?- in her eyes. They greeted Tom the bartender and stepped into the alley. Professor McGonagall counted the bricks and pushed one with her wand, making the entrance to Diagon Alley. 

They went directly to Gringotts. They stopped into an empty teller and Cari said "I'm here to retire some money from Caridwen Blantyre's vault." The goblin looked at her and said "Do you have a key?" "Yes, sir.", and she proceeded to give it to him. The goblin murmured something in the lines of "Well, well, I'll be…" and motioned them to follow him. Professor McGonagall said "I'll wait for you here. You can go with her if you want, Hermione." Hermione's face lit up, and said "Really? I've never been into the vaults before. My parents always exchange muggle money." Cari said "If it is as I remembered, it will be fun." 

While they were following him, Cari asked Hermione "How much you think I need to change in muggle money? I'm going to need a full muggle wardrobe." The goblin who was leading them could not help to hear the conversation and said "If you think you will need a large amount of money to exchange, may I suggest getting a Gringotts credit card? It is good in any muggle establishment, and we give you the best exchange rate for the month. The money will be deducted directly from your vault." 

Cari was curious now "How long will I have to wait for this credit card?" "You can receive one right after you come back from your vault. If you want, I can request the card before we leave to speed up the process." Cari nodded, and he stopped to talk to another goblin. He turned to them and said "Your request is being processed as we speak. Let's go to your vault." 

They arrived into a room with a cart, and the three of them got in. Hermione looked suspiciously to the cart and said "If I didn't know better, I would say this is a roller coaster ride." Cari looked at Hermione with a puzzled look and said "A what?" She could not say anything more, because the cart suddenly jolted forward, and started to pick up speed. Pretty soon it plunged downwards, and upwards again. Hermione yelled "No wonder Harry did not wanted to say anything. This is just like a coaster ride. It's fun!" The girls kept screaming with glee every time they took a plunge. Even once they saw some flames in one of the corridors. Cari said "I think that was a dragon!" and they suddenly stopped. 

The goblin said "Vault 108. Watch your step. I will wait in the cart." Cari made signs for Hermione to follow her, and they both stepped out of the cart. Cari opened the door with her key, and Hermione could not believe her eyes when she saw all the money that was stored in there. Cari took some money and said "I'll take some extra, to last for the semester. I also want to have muggle currency with me anyway." They got out of the vault and settled in their seats for another wild ride out of the vaults. 

They met professor McGonagall, and Cari said, "I'll be right back. I just need my card and exchange some money" and went to the teller that was with them. Professor McGonagall said "Girls, I will go and get your books and school supplies. You two go get some robes for Cari and a wand. Make sure that what you buy is sent directly to Hogwarts. I will see you here in an hour and a half." Cari gave money to the professor and she left for the bookstore. The girls decided to get the robes first. 

They saw that Madame Malkin had black robes in a new style, making them look more like a dress than a robe, so Cari decided to try those. She got measured, and said "Now we need some dressing robes. Cari was looking around the store, when her gaze went to a beautiful deep purple and cream lace robe, very delicate, with small purple, blue and pink flowers, and Cari went deathly pale. Hermione went to see what had frightened her friend and gasped as she saw the robes. "This is beautiful! You should definitely try this." 

Madame Malkin walked over to them and said, "I'm sorry, but those robes are not for sale." When she saw the confused expression on Hermione, she continued "This dressing robe had been here for ages before I took the store. Seems that someone paid for a dress for his daughter, which disappeared more than 300 years ago. We cannot sell the robe, just in case the girl comes back." 

Cari seemed to get out of her initial shock and said "Is the girl's name by any chance Blantyre?" Madame Malkin looked at her with surprise and said "How did you know?" Cari said, still in shock, "This is my dressing robe. I'm Caridwen Blantyre, the girl who disappeared 317 years ago." She took one of the black robes with her and said "Can I have that robe and my other black ones sent directly to Hogwarts? This is the address" and scribbled her dormitory in a piece of parchment. She paid her bill and looking nervously at Hermione said "Let's get out of here" and took the bag that Madame Malkin handed to her with her black robe, getting out of the place almost in a run. 

Hermione ran after her and asked "Is there something wrong? Can I help you with anything?" Cari was still shaking, but managed to smile and said "It's a long story. I will probably tell you later. Let's just say I did not expected to see that dressing robe", not wanting to touch the subject anymore. Hermione sensed this and changed the subject "Let's go to get you a new wand." This seemed to get Cari out of her sadness, and they entered excitedly into Ollivanders. 

The old man stood next to Hermione and said, "Needing a wand so soon?" Hermione jumped startled, and said "No, it's not for me, it's for her" and pointed at Cari. He looked at her and asked "Which is your wand arm?" She raised her right arm. He started measuring her, and went up a ladder taking some boxes. He gave her a wand and said "Try this one. Ebony, dragon's heart, 8 inches." She raised her hand, but nothing happened. "Try this other one. Maplewood, unicorn hair, 9 inches." She tried and nothing happened. She kept trying wands with no results. When she was about to give up, he started saying "I wonder…. Stay there, I'll be right back!" 

Professor McGonagall went inside the store, and said "I thought you girls were here. Did you got your wand?" Hermione answered "Not yet, but we might be close." The man came back with a box that seemed to have been buried deep within the storage room. The box still had some trails of dust, even that it could be told that he tried to dust it off in a hurry. "This wand has been here for a long time. It's one of a kind. White marble, eleven and a half inches, mixture of dragon's heartstring, unicorn hair, and fairy dust. Very powerful indeed. It's the only wand in existence that uses anything from a fairy, not mentioning a mixture. Try it." 

Cari was nervous when she took the wand, but as soon as she touched it, she could feel a tingle in her hand, and as soon as her hand moved the wand was shooting red and gold sparkles. The man still looked at her with curiosity, but he only said "That will be 10 galleons and 8 sickles." Cari paid quickly and got out of there, the guy was giving her the creeps. They were about to leave to The Leaky Cauldron, when Cari remembered "Wait, I need to make one more stop. I want to buy an owl." The went quickly to the Magical Menagerie, were Cari was looking at the owls while Hermione was checking the cat toys. 

Cari saw a beautiful white owl, larger than any of the other owls there. She stopped, trying to see if the owl was friendly towards her or not. The witch behind the counter noticed her and said "That is a very nice selection. A very rare bird, miss, excellent choice." She took the owl out of the cage and perched it on her shoulder. She said to the witch "Is it possible that he could fly to Hogwarts, and have the cage sent there? This is my address", scribbling it in a piece of parchment. She looked at the owl, and said "What should I name you?" Her face lit up and she said "I know, I'll name you Jareth! What do you think?" The owl nudged her ear affectionately. "I will take that as a yes" she said, happily paying the witch. 

Upon exiting the store she said to the owl "Jareth, can you fly to Hogwarts? I will see you there later today." The owl brushed his face against her cheek and took flight. Hermione asked "Where you got that name?" Cari responded, "Oh, is from a story I heard a student tell once, I think it was a muggle movie called Labyrinth. The king of where the story takes place could transform into a white owl. He reminded me of the story. Now to the fun part. Let's go shop for clothes!" Professor McGonagall transformed their robes into muggle clothes, and walked outside Diagon Alley. 

They got back into The Leaky Cauldron and went out to London. Cari went to different stores, where she bought shoes, socks, jeans, shirts, pants, dresses, underwear, and anything else under the sun. When the group got back to The Leaky Cauldron they had several bags each. Professor McGonagall said "I will take your things to Hogwarts once we get into Hogsmead. I suggest you get something to eat while you are there and make sure you come back with the rest of the group." 

They went back to The Three Broomsticks by floo powder, and they said good-bye to the professor. Professor McGonagall put a levitating spell on the bags, making them follow her outside, where she placed them into the carriage that was waiting for her. Once they were alone, Hermione said "Let's look for Ron and Harry and get something to eat." Cari nodded, and as they were making their way to the exit, they heard "Oy! Hermione! Over here!" and saw Ron waving at them from a table in a corner. 

The girls went to the table and sat down, noticing an empty chair. Hermione asked "Where's Harry?" Ron responded "He went to get some butterbeer. He should be back pretty soon." As soon as he finished saying that, Harry came with 4 mugs, and said "I saw you arriving at the fireplace, so I ordered for you as well." The girls just responded "Thanks!" Cari asked "Did you guys ate already?" They shook their heads. "Good, let's order something, my treat" and she went to get the attention of the waitress. 

The friends gave their order and Harry asked "Did you had a good time? For the looks of it you bought half of London." Cari smiled and said "It felt like it. I did not realize there were so many things I needed to buy. And what you saw is what we bought in the muggle stores. What we bought in Diagon Alley was sent directly to my room", laughing at the shocked expression of the boys. The food arrived and they spent the rest of the time engaged in small talk, and eating. 

When they finished, Cari paid for the food and Harry said "We left the two best places for you. We need to go to Zonko's Joke Shop and Honeydukes. Where you want to go first?" They all looked at each other, and said at the same time "Zonko's!". They went to the joke shop, where Harry, Ron and Cari bought Filibuster Fireworks, Dungbombs, Hiccup Sweets, Frog Spawn Soap, and Exploding Quills. Then they went to Honeydukes, where they bought Every Flavor Beans, Fizzing Whizbees, Peppermint Toads, Jelly Slugs, and much more. They took a stroll around Hogsmeade, and before they knew, it was time to get into the carriages that would take them back to Hogwarts. 

They got a carriage just to themselves, and once settled they started talking about the girl's trip to London. "…And you would never believe that anyone would be so happy to wear jeans." "Hermione, you would be happy that a girls is allowed to wear pants too if you were constantly scolded by your father when he would catch you dressed up as a boy sneaking out of the castle" answered Cari. "I can't wait to get back, I need to check up on Jareth" Harry quickly asked "Who's Jareth?" Fortunately for Harry, he was the only one who caught the strange look that Ron gave him. 

Cari answered "Jareth is my owl. I just sent him from the pet store, and I want to make sure he arrived safely. Want to see him?" Hermione shook her head "Saw it already." Ron stretched and said "No, I'm tired. I think I'll lay down before dinner", giving a mischievous look at Harry. Harry saw that look again, so he fixed his gaze to the floor and said "I need to send a letter anyway, so I will go." "Great! We can go to the common room, pick up your letter, and go to the owlery." 

The carriage stopped shortly after. They kept walking to the Griffindor tower. When they got into the common room, Harry said to Cari "Let me grab my letter, I'll be right back." Shortly after, the two of them climbed out of the portrait and were on their way to the owlery. Cari asked "You don't have to answer if you don't want to, but, whom is the letter for?" Harry smiled and said "It's for Sirius, my godfather. I send him owls from time to time, so he knows I'm fine." 

They started the climb up the stairs to the owlery. Cari sighed and said "It's nice to know you have people who care about you outside from school. I'm afraid I will have to spend all my holidays at Hogwarts, as I don't know who my legal guardian would be." Harry said "I would give anything to spend my summers here instead of spending them with the Dursley's". 

They got inside the owlery where hundreds of owls were perched all around the tower. They saw two white shadows coming towards them. Hedwig was the first one to arrive, perching herself in Harry's arm. "Hullo, Hedwig" Harry said, receiving a nudge from the snowy owl. Jareth landed in Cari's shoulder, giving her an affectionate nudge in her ear, as she said "Hi, handsome. Did you miss me?" Harry noticed that Cari's owl was not a snowy owl like his, but it was white with a faint touch of tan color on top of the wings and back, and pretty big in size. 

Cari noticed Harry checking her owl and asked with a smile "What Harry, owl envy?" She noticed that Hedwig started to get undignified and said "Just kidding, Hedwig. I'm sure Harry only have eyes for you." Harry blushed a bit while he finished tying up the letter to Hedwig's leg. He said to the owl "Give this letter to Sirius, but please be careful. I expect he gives me a reply to this letter, so wait for it." The owl pinched one of his fingers softly and left through the huge window. Jareth took this as a cue and he flied to nest in the top perch. 

They were making their way out of the owlery when Cari slipped. She would have fallen to the floor, but Harry held her in his arms. She felt a shiver down her spine as soon as she felt being held by Harry like that. She glanced at Harry to apologize, but no sound came out of her mouth. She just kept gazing at those intense green eyes, frozen. She felt Harry tense up as well, but suddenly he started getting closer, her mind went flying "Is he going to do what I think he is doing? Oh, my, he is going to kiss me, he is going to kiss me, he is going to kiss me, he is going to kiss me, he is going to kiss me, he is going to kiss me, he is going to kiss me…." Suddenly everything stopped as soon as she felt his lips touch hers. 

Her mind went blank, and she closed her eyes. Before she could realize what she was doing, she put her arms around his neck, and kissed him back, passionately. They separated when the need for air became apparent. Suddenly, reality sat in. Harry's faced turned an intense crimson and started saying "I, um, er…", but stopped when he saw tears coming down from Cari's face. She was looking at him with an expression of betrayal, while she said "How could you?" wiping the tears from her face and running down the stairs, leaving a very confused Harry in the owlery. 

**Part 4**   
****

Ron and Hermione were talking in the common room, when they saw Cari storming straight for the girls bedroom. She looked like she was crying. They looked for Harry to ask what happened, but he was nowhere to be found. They looked at each other with a feeling of dread, and Hermione voiced the question that was in both their minds "Did something happened to Harry?" At that moment, they saw him. 

As he was making his way into the common room, they noticed a very strange expression on his face. It was something between sadness, happiness and anger. All this emotions were on his face at the same time. They never saw Harry like that before. Harry turned his gaze over to his friends, and all he said was "I am tired, and I'm going to sleep. I guess I'll see you tomorrow." At the sound of his voice, they felt this fear wash over them. It was not because of what Harry said, but at his voice, it was dark and cold as ice. 

Ron and Hermione looked at each other nervously. They tried to decide what was their best course of action and Ron said to her "I'll go check up on Harry. Why don't you go talk to Cari?" Hermione nodded silently, and before leaving she said to Ron "Please be careful" with a pleading look. Ron nodded, his stomach making flips at the sight of Hermione worried, and he started walking towards the boys dormitories 

There was a soft knock on the bedpost, followed by a soft "Cari?" Cari opened her curtain and said to Hermione "I guess you want to know what happened." "If you don't want to talk about it, it's fine." "I guess I better get it off my chest before I explode. Remember the robe at Madame Malkin's?" Hermione nodded, she remembered Cari paying and getting out of there like a bat out of hell. "The reason I reacted so strange is because that was supposed to be my engagement robe" pointing to the robe in her open closet. "Engagement? But you are only fifteen!" 

"Hermione, remember that I lived in an era very different from now. When I lived before, you did not marry for love. I was engaged to be married since I was a year old. My father felt that at fifteen I was old enough to make the engagement official. I was supposed to be engaged a week after I 'died'. I think turning into a ghost was the best thing that happened to me. As you could imagine, during those last days I was very depressed. Not only I was engaged to be married to someone I did not love, but he was older than me. Almost as old as my father. But that was not the worst part." 

Feeling a tear come down her cheek, she wiped it down. She noticed her friend becoming more curious, so with a sigh, continued "Did I ever told you how I 'died'?" Hermione shook her head. "I was fighting the invasion of a dark lord trying to take over, much like Voldemort. I disappeared trying to stop the dark lord. Just him and me, in a wizard's duel. I managed to destroy him, but in the process, I became a ghost somehow. Valkor the Dark, that was his name. The name of the man I was supposed to marry." 

Cari heard Hermione gasp, and she lifted her face. Hermione saw that there were tears in her eyes. Hermione asked "We saw Harry minutes after you came in, and he was acting very strange. Did something happened while you two were alone?" Cari gave a sad chuckle and said "Yes, he kissed me. I realized that I like him a lot and ran away. He is probably mad at me." She could see Hermione looking more confused now while asking "And that made you cry and run away because?" Cari said "I know that I can hurt Harry more than you could imagine. If I want what's best for him, I cannot return his love. I prefer hurting his feelings now, when he can get over it. And if you are his friend, as well as mine, this conversation never happened." 

Ron walked into the bedroom. He wanted to talk to Harry, but noticed that he was already asleep. No, better to talk to him in the morning. Ron turned around and went back into the common room. Harry was in a deep sleep, but his dreams were disturbing. _He was walking in the forbidden forest when he saw Cari. Someone was throwing spells at her. She was expertly avoiding them and throwing spells back._

Hermione sat trying to digest what Cari was saying "Let me see if I got it right. You love Harry and Harry loves you. You will rather be unhappy because you think that if you two become an item you will hurt Harry? I don't get it." Cari said "I have said too much already." 

Hermione sighed. This was not going to be pretty. Hermione said "Come on, let's go to dinner." Cari shook her head and said "I'm not hungry. I think I'll go to sleep. Go to dinner, Ron is probably waiting for you already", making Hermione blush. "Are you sure?" she asked, and Cari replied "Yes. Besides, I prefer not to see Harry until tomorrow." 

Cari put her head on the pillow and closed her eyes. "Well, I think that ends our conversation" thought Hermione. She walked back down to the common room. As Cari said, Ron was waiting for her to go to dinner. "Where's Harry?" Hermione asked. Ron said "He was asleep when I got into the bedroom, so I decided that it is better to talk to him tomorrow. Where's Cari?" "She did not want a chance to see Harry again until tomorrow. I think she is waiting for him to calm down before she talks to him." They went down to the common room without saying another word, each one immersed in their own thoughts. 

_He heard her say "Give up, Valkor. You are finished. Your forces are gone." He looked at the wizard called Valkor, and he had a feeling that he had seen him before. But where? He couldn't put a finger on it. He suddenly heard "Avada Kedavra!" and a flash of green light went from Cari's wand towards the wizard. He yelled "You will not get away so easily!" and shouted some incantation that he did not understand._

_Harry heard Cari scream as the death spell took Valkor. Harry turned around to Cari, but she was gone. He looked frantically for her everywhere. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a flash of gray. He turned in that direction, hoping to find Cari, with no avail. He then screamed "Cari!"_ and woke up, sweat across his face. Ron was a second later next to him "Harry! Are you all right? You were screaming Cari's name." Harry replied "It was just a nightmare, that's all. I'm fine, go back to sleep." He saw Ron getting back to bed, so Harry turned the other way and touched his scar. For some reason it was hurting. "But it only hurts when I dream of Voldemort…" and fell asleep once again.   
  


**Part 5**   


Cari woke up and opened her eyes. She remembered what happened the previous day and pulled her pillow on top of her head. She thought "You can't avoid him, so you better talk to him and get it over with." She reluctantly got out of bed, and received a "Good morning! How do you feel?" from Hermione. Cari just said "Better. Did you went down for breakfast?" "No, but I'll wait for you in the common room, so hurry up!" Smiling, Cari picked up some new clothes and quickly took a shower. With a flick of her wand she braided her hair, and went down to the common room. 

She saw Ron and Harry arrive at the same time she did. Biting her lip, she said "Harry, do you mind if I talk to you alone?" Harry nodded and said "You guys go ahead. We will meet you at breakfast." Hermione wanted to stay, but Ron put his arm over her shoulders, and said "Let's go. They need to be alone." Hermione nodded and they left, Ron never taking his arm from its current position. 

As soon as they exited the now empty common room, Harry started "I'm sorry about yesterday, I…" being silenced by Cari putting her finger on top of his lips. She said "No, I am the one who should be sorry. I was the one who ran away after you kissed me. Is not like I did not enjoy it, because I think you noticed that I did." Harry blushed with that statement, and Cari's face was not an exception. She continued, "Harry, there are a lot of things you don't know about me. I just don't want you to get hurt." 

Harry said "I don't care. I have never felt this way about anyone before. Yes, I have my friends, my godfather, but I still felt some emptiness in my soul. I realized some time ago, that I did not felt that emptiness anymore. I realized that I had found my soul mate in a ghost. That's when I started spending more time with you. Then, I was resigned that nothing would happen, just friendship. I was contempt with that. After the quidditch game incident, I realized that I had a chance at true happiness. And I don't give up that easy." 

Caridwen look at Harry in shock. She could not believe her ears. He was in love with her when she was a ghost. She went over Harry's words. Suddenly, she remembered all that time in the castle as a ghost, contempt, but with the same emptiness she felt days before 'dying'. 

She recognized she had not felt that emptiness for a while. That it started some time after she befriended Harry. She thought that it was the excitement of having a human being been capable to see and talk to her, of having a living friend. Now, she realized that it was something more, deeper. She did not feel empty anymore, she was complete. 

She felt tears flowing through her cheeks. What was she going to do? Should she listen to her head, or to her heart? Her heart was the winner in the end. Between sobs, she said "Harry, I have loved you in silence for a while. I felt the same emptiness for many years, until I met you. I want a chance for happiness as well. Will you ever forgive me?" She turned to face a smiling Harry, who was wiping the tears from her face with his fingers, and answered her with a kiss. They went down for breakfast, hand in hand oblivious of the looks they were getting from the Griffidors at the breakfast table. 

Ron arched an eyebrow, and with a mischievous smile, said "Sooooooo, looks like things are looking pretty good for you two. What happened? Did you kiss and made up?" Harry and Cari blushed at the same time, while seating down at the table between Ron and Hermione. Harry said "At least you got the kissing part right…" making him blush more. Hermione looked at Cari and asked "So, does this means that officially you are now boyfriend and girlfriend?" Cari bit her lip, and said "I don't know, I think so." Harry put his arm around her shoulders, and giving Hermione a small grin he said "I know so." And gave Cari a quick kiss before concentrating on breakfast. 

Ron looked at Hermione and said "I win the bet, you owe me." Harry and Cari looked at each other, and Cari asked "You bet on us? Not that I mind too much, but what was the bet? I'm curious." Hermione looked at her and said "I… We bet a lunch at Hogsmeade." "That doesn't sound so bad" Hermione moved very close to Cari, and whispered "That's not the only part of the bet. I also have to do anything he says for a week." Cari raised an eyebrow and looked at Hermione, who was blushing a scarlet color at that point "Now, that I want to see." 

Ron finished his breakfast quickly and said "If you guys will excuse us, we need to discuss the payback details" glancing at Hermione with a wolfish smile on his lips. Once Hermione and Ron left the hall, Harry said "Why do they need to discuss lunch?" Cari told him the part of the bet they did not made public. Harry suddenly got starry eyed and said with a grin "This could be actually good. Would you like to play matchmaker?" 

Fred and George suddenly came up to them and Fred said "Did I just heard the M word? Who are you trying to hook up?" with a devilish grin. Cari sighed and said "Nah, you would not be interested in trying to get Hermione and Ron together, would you?" Fred and George looked at each other and George said "And miss the opportunity of throwing in his face the fact that we helped him get the girl of his dreams any time we can? You are on." As Cari and the twins were throwing ideas, Harry chuckled and shook his head. He was starting to feel pity for his poor friends. 

They came back to the common room, where they saw Hermione and Ron. "What are you doing?" asked Harry. "Oh, nothing, just homework" answered Ron with a smug smile. They could see Hermione's flustered face at that comment. "Oh, I don't think he is going to let her live this one out" thought Cari with amusement. "I think it's time for Plan B. Where are Fred and George?" Cari thought while looking for the twins impatiently. She and Harry sat down in the table and were talking as usual when George came all flustered to their table. 

"What's wrong with you?" Ron said to his older sibling. Panting, he said, "I am playing truth or dare" and he glanced to the other side of the common room. The four of them followed his gaze and they saw Angelina, Katie, Alicia, Fred, and Lee waving from the corner. Lee said, "Come on, George. You only have 4 minutes left!" and started laughing. Well, the deal was that I had to make 2 people from different years to kiss in 10 minutes. I only have left the 5th years. In this one, they imposed a condition." He looked at Ron and said, "It has to be you and Hermione. Please help me? I only have three minutes left! Please?" 

Ron looked at Hermione with a mix of fear and excitement. Then he fixed his eyes on the table and said "Uh, Hermione?" Hermione looked at him and responded "Yes?" "Would you get mad if I kiss you?" "If it's to help George, I don't think a small peck on the cheek matters" she answered back, a little pink herself. George grinned and said, "Uh, guys, it's not that easy. It's on the lips. Oh, you have two minutes. Please hurry!" Ron shrugged and looked at Hermione. She shook her head, "Oh, no you don't." Ron sighed and said to Hermione "Payment." He could see that she was furious when she nodded, so he pressed his lips quickly against Hermione's. 

Everybody was expecting the moment were Hermione would slap Ron on the face, when they saw her tense up. Well, a little unexpected thing happened. It was supposed to be a small peck on the lips, but it looked like for two to three seconds nothing happened. Then, Hermione put her arms around Ron's neck, and kissed him back, while he was putting his arms around her waist. Cari, Harry and George stood dumbfounded looking at the amorous display. In fact, everybody in the common room stopped to see what was going on. After what seemed an hour later (which were only about 2 minutes) they separated with a smile on their faces. 

Ron and Hermione were still embraced to each other, when they noticed the surprised looks of everybody in the common room. Ron whispered in Hermione's ear "Should we tell them?" She whispered back "I don't see any point in keeping it a secret anymore" and smiling she gave him another small kiss. Harry finally said, "Did we missed something?" Ron went red as he said "We have been seeing each other for the past 3 months. We wanted to keep it a secret for a while, but I guess the secret's out." 

"You two were together since the summer and did not said anything to me? said Harry. Hermione answered "The reason we did not want to say anything was because we did not want our friendship to change, Harry. I think that's why I was happy that Cari came along." "You know, I have been waiting for this moment since last year. Nothing could have changed that", said a grinning Harry. Ron said to Harry with a grin on his face (still holding Hermione by the waist) "Now we can double date on our next trip to Hogsmeade." 

Cari said "Well George, all that work for nothing. Thanks, anyway." George answered "No problem.   
If you excuse me, I have a game of truth or dare that I need to go to" as they heard the group of 6th years calling for George. Ron and Hermione looked at Cari and she said, "We were trying to make you kiss and realize that you two are in love with each other. The truth or dare bit was George's idea. Can you forgive me?" Ron and Hermione smiled at her, and Hermione said "Of course! Now, let's plan our trip to Hogsmeade next Saturday." The four friends continued talking, making plans for the next weekend. 

After a slow week, the trip to Hogsmeade was finally in sight. The two couples visited Zonko's Honeydukes, and went to more stores just to look at their merchandise. The group went to get some ice cream when Cari noticed a small antique store near the ice cream shop. Harry noticed and said "Why don't you go look around while we get the ice cream? Looks like we will have to make a long line" with a smile on his face. She nodded and went inside that small shop. 

She loved the feeling of the store, even if it was dark and musty. She was looking at some books when she saw a shadow next to her. A short, bald man was standing next to her. He looked nervously at her and said "A message for you." When she took the piece of parchment he was offering, she noticed that there was a finger missing from his hand. She turned to the man to ask who was this from, but he had already disappeared. She unfolded the parchment, and read 

My Dear,

I know that you are alive and well. So am I. I have been very patient, waiting all this years.   
You will soon be mine, my bride.

V

She went pale as soon as she finished reading the letter. She recognized the handwriting and immediately started shaking. She was putting her friends' lives in danger. She needed to do something, fast. She ran out of the store, hoping to find the man that gave her the letter. She started looking around the street, eyes searching for a small bald man. She was getting frustrated, when she saw him running towards a small alley. She followed suit. 

Harry was talking animatedly to Ron and Hermione, putting the giant ice cream on the table. He looked towards the antique shop, to see if Cari was still there. To his surprise, he saw a small man running out of the store. There was something familiar about that man. He finally recognized him "Wormtail!" Ron and Hermione looked at Harry, who did not realized said the name out loud. 

Ron just opened his eyes widely and said, " What? Where?" Harry just answered "He just ran into that small alley." Ron and Hermione turned to look where Harry was pointing, when they saw Cari running in the same direction. They ran, hoping that Cari would be fine. After all, she did not know what Pettigrew looks like. And were Pettigrew is, Voldemort is surely close. 

Cari ran to the small alley where she saw the man go into. As she got there, an eerie feeling crept up her spine. There was no one there. The street was empty of people, of sound. She heard a noise and saw a door being closed very carefully. She ran towards the door and opened it. She found the man standing in front of a fireplace. 

Harry, Ron and Hermione got into the alley at that moment. They barely saw Cari getting into one of the houses in that alley. They quickly followed her, trying to spy through a window, to see what was going on inside. 

"Stop! I demand to know who are you, and who you sent this letter", said Cari. Peter looked at her and said, "You know very well who sent it. As for myself, I'm just a loyal servant." "I demand that you take me to him right now" Cari said, with fire in her eyes. Wormtail smiled inwardly and said, "As you wish" he took some floo powder into the fire and said "Dunghan Castle" he grabbed her by the arm and went into the fireplace. 

The three friends looked with apprehension at the scene that they were watching unfold right before their eyes. The window was opened a tiny bit, so they could hear what was going on inside. They saw Cari being dragged by Peter, disappearing into the fire. Harry said "I'm following them. I understand if you want to stay." Ron and Hermione looked at each other and then at Harry. Ron said "We are going with you." Harry nodded and they went into the empty room. As they were taking some of the floo powder that was on top of the mantle, Harry could not keep a thought from his mind "What does Voldemort want with her?" 

Wormtail was still dragging Cari through some corridors when they got in front of some doors facing a room with a cozy fire, and a high back chair facing the fire. She could not see anyone in the room, so she did not know why they stopped there. They entered the room, and she saw a very old painting of a beautiful girl with a heart shaped face, blue-gray eyes and long, dark brown hair. It was her, in front of her father's castle. 

"Did you do as I told you?" said a voice behind the chair. "Yes, my lord Voldemort. I found her, but she insisted on coming back with me" said Pettigrew. Voldemort was surprised at the news, but very pleased, a sinister smile on his face, while looking at the antique painting in the wall he said, "Caridwen, I told you once that you would not get away. Pretty soon it will be time to claim my promised bride!" 

At the sound of his voice, her worst fears had been confirmed. He lived, and had taken a new name. Cari said, "I never thought I would see you again Valkor, or should I say Voldemort? I told you once, so I will say it again, I will never be your bride!" Voldemort rose from his chair, and looked at Cari. Still defying him, after all these years. Cari saw him for the first time. She thought she was prepared for what he looked like from all the descriptions Harry had made of him. 

Nothing could prepare her for the sight of his face. It was his face, but this time his eyes were red, with slits for pupils, like a cat's, and his nose was flat as a snake's with slits for nostrils. Even with those changes she recognized him immediately. He had a cruel smirk on his face, as he was eyeing her from her feet to her head, making her uncomfortable. She felt that for the first time, she was actually afraid of him. He had become un-human, a monster. 

"Ah, and who is going to stop me? Your boyfriend, Potter?" he smiled when he saw her flinch, and continued "I know what you've been doing. I've been following your movements since I felt my spell was broken. And I wonder how did Harry Potter still want you after he found out that the girl he loves and adores had his enemy as a lover?" He saw her expression and smiling darkly continued the taunting "Oh, but you haven't told him, have you?" 

She could not believe her ears. How could he imply that she had ever been with him, when she had always despised him? Her fury could not be contained any longer, so she walked up to him and slapped him in the face. "How dare you?" Voldemort was surprised at this attack. Most people were afraid at the mere sight of him, not to mention touch him. He grabbed her by the arms and said "My patience is very limited, but I will have a marvelous time breaking you. Besides, you can still be of use to me. I can use you as bait, to lure the unsuspecting Potter to his death." "No! I won't let you. I have fought you before, I can do it again." 

Voldemort shoved her to a side of the room, then took his wand and raised his arm. At that moment, they heard "Expelliarmus!" followed by "Stupefy!" Cari lifted her head, not sure of what was going on. She suddenly saw Ron and Hermione, wands out, looking over at Wormtail and Voldemort, unconscious on the floor. Then she saw Harry running to her side, and lifting her to her feet. She opened her eyes widely and asked, "How did you got…" not being able to finish, because Harry put a finger on her lips. "Let's get out of here before anyone else comes in. He took some floo powder, and said "To the Three Broomsticks! We will have to go all of us at the same time, so on the count to three. One, two, three!" and the four of them went into the fire at the same time. 

**Part 6**

The four friends made it safely to the tavern from the fireplace, managing to create some curious glances from the people who were there. They tried to hurry out of the place as normally as possible, and once outside, Harry said, "We have to go back to Hogwarts, we need to tell professor Dumbledore about this." 

They left at once, and when they reached Hogwarts, kept going directly to professor Dumbledore's office. When they reached the gargoyle that would take them to his office, Harry started mentioning every candy and sweet he could remember, but nothing made the statue open. Harry was feeling frustrated now "No candy or sweets? That's strange! The only thing we haven't tried is Canary Creams, but is not like the twins are selling them…." He stopped talking as soon as he noticed that the statue opened, and they could get into his office. 

They went through the small staircase that led to the headmaster's office, and soon arrived at the door. As soon as Harry was going to knock they heard from the inside "Please, come in!" Harry opened the door, and saw professor Dumbledore sitting down behind his desk, looking at them with interest. "I take something happened, if the four of you decided to cut short your trip to Hogsmeade and come here instead." 

Harry nodded and proceeded to explain the chain of events to Dumbledore. "…And we got lucky, we caught them by surprise. I never thought we could knock them cold and get out like we did." Professor Dumbledore followed his gaze from Harry to Caridwen. "Now, young lady, could you explain what were you doing following Pettigrew to Voldemort's hideout?" "Professor, could we talk privately?" Cari asked. 

"Of course. I suggest that the rest of you remain in your tower until dinner", and with that he dismissed her three friends. Once Dumbledore made sure the gargoyle closed behind them, he sat down at his desk, and with an expression full of curiosity, nodded Cari to proceed with her story. Cari told the headmaster about her former life, the battle with Valkor the Dark, and her former association with him. Also, she told Dumbledore how her suspicions had been confirmed when she encountered Voldemort, that they were the same person. 

"Now I'm afraid that not only Harry is Voldemort's target, but I am as well. I know we are safe here, but I know he will not be happy once he wakes up. He will try something soon. I just thought I should tell you" Cari finished . Dumbledore assured her that they would be on the alert, and motioned her to join her friends in the common room. She could not keep this feeling that something was wrong, but she could not put her finger on it. 

As soon as she entered the common room, she saw that her friends were waiting for her. Hermione went to her and asked "How did it go?" Cari looked at her and said "I told him everything. He assured me that we are safe, but I have this nagging feeling…. Maybe I'm just tired." She could feel Harry putting his arms around hers from behind as he said "Why don't you take a nap until dinner? You had a hard day, and you should rest. She nodded and headed to the bedroom. Once she got into bed, she immediately fell asleep. 

Just minutes after she fell asleep, Cari woke up with a start. She was in a strange bedroom, and flinched trying to make sense of her surroundings. Her eyes opened wide when she saw that Voldemort was staring at her from a chair next to her bed. "How did I got here? Last thing I remember was falling asleep in my bed in Hogwarts" said Cari. Voldemort responded with a sneer, "My dear, you never left. Wormtail had the presence of mind to get you unconscious when you arrived. That gave me time to perform a spell I've been working on. It came from a muggle idea, go figure. I just created a clone of you. More effective than Polyjuice potion, don't have any time constraints." 

Cari was suddenly getting confused. She could recall some flashes of memory of arriving at the castle and her eyesight going blurry. She still refused to believe him "You lie. Harry, Ron and Hermione rescued me and we arrived at Hogwarts." "What you have is a recollection of memories from your clone. You can only be conscious when your clone is sleeping, but you will have all the memories your clone has, without having control of her actions, because I do. And when I order her to kill Potter, you will remember everything." "No!" she screamed and tried to jump out of the bed, being unable to do so. 

Voldemort laughed "Did you think I would let you go so easily? I told you I would find a way to break you. The clone spell just let me kill two birds with one stone." Cari suddenly started feel very sleepy. "What is going on?" she said, disoriented. "Your clone is probably waking up right now" said Voldemort, an evil laugh in his voice. That was the last thing Cari heard before everything went black. 

**Part 7**

"Cari, are you ready?" "Coming, Hermione!" said the clone. The two of them went downstairs to the common room, where Harry and Ron were waiting for them. The four friends went down for dinner and Harry asked the clone "are you going to see the quidditch practice tomorrow?" She answered "You know I would not miss it!" with a smile, lacing her arm around his on their way to the Great Hall. 

Quidditch practice was very early the next day. The clone was cheering Harry on the stands when she heard a voice in her mind saying *This is the perfect opportunity. Act now.* making her smile. After practice, the clone stayed helping Harry put the bludgers and the snitch back in their box. After they were done, she asked Harry "Would you mind staying here to talk for a moment?" He nodded and asked "What do you want to talk about?" 

She smiled and motioned him forward. When he did, she pulled him closer to her and said "I have been wanting to do this for a long time" and kissed him, putting her arms around his neck. Harry kissed her back, getting very involved in the kiss. She managed to take a dagger she had been hiding in the sleeves of her robes. 

She went to stab him, when a flash of white feathers came over to her, attacking. Harry pulled back, and all he saw was Jareth attacking Cari, who was holding a knife in her hands. Cari started screaming "Stop it, stupid bird!" Harry took his wand out and said, "Who are you? What you did to Cari?" 

Jareth stopped attacking the clone and perched on his shoulder. She looked at him, but her beautiful face was framed with an evil grin. "Harry, I'm still the same old Cari, but I realized I want my fiancé back. The way to do it is to kill you" sending chills down his spine. 

At that moment, she looked over Harry's shoulder and smiling said "Darling, I'm so glad you are here. Like the present I got for you?" Harry turned around, knowing whom he would see, as his scar was starting to hurt at that moment. Voldemort was standing right behind him, and before he could do anything, he heard Cari saying "Expelliarmus!" and his wand went flying to her. Jareth took flight at the same moment, going towards the castle. 

Harry saw Voldemort walking next to Cari, giving her a kiss on the lips, while saying, "Well done, beloved. You have brought me what I wanted, so I'm afraid I don't need you anymore. Avada Kedavra!" She froze, looking at Voldemort "You promised! You promised I would be with you!" as a green light enveloped her, and she fell on the floor, eyes opened. Cari woke up with a scream "No, Harry!" She realized she was in the room where she saw Voldemort for the first time. 'He is going to kill Harry and there is nothing I can do about it!' she thought. 

Voldemort turned to Harry, who was pale as a ghost. "Don't worry, Potter. You will join your girlfriend pretty soon!" "No you won't Voldemort!" said Dumbledore. "I don't know how you got here, but I know it won't be for long." Voldemort slit his eyes in a hateful glance and turned to Harry "Until next time, Potter. You will not be so lucky!" and he disappeared, leaving his evil laugh behind. 

Harry was still shaking when he asked Dumbledore "How did you got here?" "This owl was very insistent that I followed him. It was a good thing I did, considering the circumstances." Said Dumbledore, pointing to Jareth, whoi was perched on his shoulders. Suddenly, the owl took flight and dissapeared in the sky. Harry turned towards Cari's body, and kneeling down, he closed her eyes and gave her a farewell kiss on the lips. He then asked Dumbledore "What about her? I can't believe she did this on her own. Could she had been under the imperious curse?" Dumbledore put his hands on Harry's shoulders and said "She probably was. We will give her a proper burial service." 

With his wand, he created a stretcher and put Cari's limp body in it, making it float behind them. "Let's go see Madam Pomfrey. It is going to be a long day" said Dumbledore, guiding the still shocked Harry towards the medical wing. 

Voldemort apparated in front of Cari, who was looking murderously at him. "What did you do to Harry, you monster?" "I did not kill him, if that's what you want to know. But I doubt he will be the same person after watching the love of his life die before him" he responded with an evil smirk, turning around and leaving the room. Cari murmured to herself "You'll pay for this, Voldemort. I swear!" and continued to look for a weakness in her invisible cell. 

After Madame Pomfrey made sure that Harry was physically all right, she dismissed him to his tower, assuring him that he did not have to take any classes if he did not want to. As soon as Harry got into the common room, he knew that the news of Cari's death had spread to the school. He saw in a corner Hermione crying, being consoled by Ron, who was also crying 

Harry just wanted to be alone, so he walked towards the boy's dormitories. He just wanted to sleep, he did not want to think. He stayed in his bed the whole day, curtains closed, closed to the world, not going down to eat at all. 

The next day arrived, and Harry did not want to get up. He was numb to the world. Cari was dead. He thought that the pain brought by Cedric's death was bad, but this pain was unbearable. He felt like half of his being was gone. He did not want to feel, to think. He stayed in the common room the whole day, refusing to go down to eat, or even go to Cari's burial services. He just stayed in his chair in front of the fireplace looking blankly at space. He acted like an automaton that whole day, making Hermione and Ron worried. 

Ron looked at Hermione and said "I think Cari's death affected Harry more than we thought. I think he really loved her. Now, he acts like he is dead. We need to do something to cheer him up." Hermione nodded and they both got up and went to Harry. 

Hermione started "Harry, if you need to talk, you know we are here for you. Cari was our friend too, and we miss her as well." Harry looked up to his friends, and with half a smile he said "Thanks." His face got serious all of the sudden "Why did she had to die? It should have been me!" With that, all the emotions he had bottled up came out, tears flowing through his face, unable to control his sobbing, being comforted by his best friends. 

Cari woke up when she felt a weight next to her. When she opened her eyes, she saw that Voldemort was sitting next to her, his back against the bed's headboard. "Rested well, my dear?" he said. She only looked at him with hatred in her eyes, and turned her back to him. She heard him laugh while he said "Still the same spit fire I remember, I see. This will make tonight's events much more interesting." 

Now he got her curiosity, but something was telling her that she was not going to like the answer. "What happens tonight?" she asked, dreading the answer. "Why, my dear, tonight's our wedding night. We are getting married at sundown." She felt a coldness rush through her body, and a very unnerving calmness surrounded her. "Then can I at least make myself presentable? I am sure you would not want to present your wife to your followers dirty and smelly." 

Voldemort was surprised as her unexpected calmness, but he attributed it to the fact that could be the first signs of her spirit breaking. He answered "Of course. You can use the bathroom next to this room, there are some robes in the armoire. I will be watching you, so I know if you try to escape." She looked at him coldly and arching up an eyebrow replied "Watching me? I would have hoped to get some privacy at least until tonight." His mouth was curved in an evil smirk, obviously amused by her answer. "Very well, I will not watch you while you bathe, but I will now anything that happens outside the bathroom. Is that clear?" She nodded, and looked in the dresser for clean underwear, went to the armoire, took a set of clean robes, and directed herself to the bathroom. 

She was about to take her clothes off when she heard a faint hoot outside the bathroom's small window. She opened the curtain and delighted exclaimed "Jareth! How did you found me? Never mind, I'm in big trouble. Looks like tonight I'm going to become Mrs. Evil Psychopath Wizard. I need help, but   
I don't have any parchment with me." Then an idea occurred to her. She was not sure if it would work without her wand, but she tried spells without it before, and they worked. 

"How did that spell worked again? Think, Caridwen, think! Your life depends on this. Ah, got it!" She looked at her beautiful white barn owl and put her hands on his head while saying "Dico Humanus! Now go and tell Dumbledore. He will know what to do, and tell Harry I'm alive!" "Whatever you say, but just be careful!" said the owl, in a melodious voice with British accent. She knew that Voldemort would be watching Jareth outside the window, so she shouted "Voldemort, I thought I told you, no peeking! Now go, scram owl!" and winking, motioned her owl to leave. Jareth took flight, going to Hogwarts as fast as his wings could take him. 

"Come on, Harry. Let's go downstairs for lunch." said a very frustrated Ron. "Yes, Harry, you have had nothing to eat in the past 2 days. Come with us, please?" pleaded Hermione, taking Harry's hand in hers. Harry was about to respond that he did not want to eat, when his stomach betrayed him with a loud rumble. Ron said with a smile "I'll take that as a yes!" And they went to lunch, Harry walking between Ron and Hermione. 

The three friends were having lunch at the Great Hall, and talking. Harry was looking and feeling much better. He even got interested in a quidditch discussion with Ron and the twins, when they saw a white owl fly through the Great Hall, perching on Dumbledore's shoulder. The strange thing is that they saw expressions change in Dumbledore's face, but he was not reading anything. He actually looked like he was talking to the owl. 

They saw Dumbledore stand up and leave the table, followed by professors McGonagall and Snape. Then, the owl took flight towards their direction. He perched in an empty chair in front of Harry, when they heard a voice say "Dumbledore wants to see you three in his office now." The three friends looked at each other, silence filling the table when they figured out who spoke. Harry, still with wide-open eyes said "Jareth, did you just talked?" "No, it was the chair. I like to do ventriloquism from time to time. Yes it was me, and we better hurry, this is important." The owl answered in an annoyed tone. 

Ron, Harry and Hermione stood up and hurried to Dumbledore's office, Jareth flying right behind them. Once they arrived next to the statue, harry said "Canary Cream", the statue moved and they got into the passage to the headmaster's office. Once they got in, they saw professor McGonagall and professor Snape sitting in the office as well. Dumbledore said "Please sit down. I have good and bad news. The good news is that I just found out that Voldemort tricked us again. Caridwen is alive and well, imprisoned by Voldemort. The bad news is that Voldemort plans to marry Caridwen at sundown today." 

Harry went numb by this revelation, and said "Cari is alive? But we saw her body. How can this be?" Jareth looked at Dumbledore and said "I think I can answer this one. The girl you saw was not the real Caridwen, but a copy. I could sense it, that is why I attacked her when she tried to kill you. Also, after Voldemort left I smelled a scent that told me where he was, and I knew that if I found him, I would find her, and I did. She put a spell on me so I could talk to humans, and get help. So, here we are." 

Ron was confused by all this "Why Voldemort wants to marry Cari anyway?" Snape answered "Isn't it obvious Mr. Weasly? Voldemort wants an heir, and Caridwen is a very powerful witch. Their child will have the potential of becoming the most powerful witch or wizard that has ever existed. The only way he could be in control of her is by performing a very special, very ancient submission spell, which can only work if they are married. This kind of spell was very common hundreds of years ago, when husbands expected total submission from their wives." 

Dumbledore spoke then "We need to do something fast. It is going to be dangerous. I'm expecting that it will be a public ceremony, so the majority of Death-eaters will be in attendance. What we need is some distraction that would allow us to take Cari and apparate immediately in Hogwarts. I want you to be on the alert, because I need to take the apparition deterrent charm for the time we are going to be out." 

Harry answered back "No. I want to go with you. I want to get Cari out of there. You know that you will need my help against Voldemort." Dumbledore studied the situation for a few minutes and nodded. "Severus, I expect that it's time for you to go." said Dumbledore, then looking at professor McGonagall "Minerva, you are to be in charge while we are out. Round all the prefects, and don't let anybody out of their towers." She nodded, and left the room with Snape. Dumbledore turned to Harry "Harry, I think it would be a good idea if you bring your invisibility cloak with you, along with Miss Blantyre's wand." Harry nodded, and was leaving the room, when he heard Dumbledore talking to his friends "Now, Mr. Weasly and Miss Granger, I need you to quickly learn this spell to create a little diversion..." 

The weird calmness still enveloped her when she was changing her robes into her wedding gown. Cari thought "This is turning out to be the worst day of my life. I just hope Jareth was able to get help." She finished putting on her makeup "Well, it's showtime!" With a stoic face, she opened the door to her bedroom, to find Wormtail waiting for her outside the door. He gave a small bow and said "If you will follow me, please." 

As soon as she got outside of the castle, she saw a lot of people gathered in a small area of the garden. She kept following Peter, who suddenly stopped. She looked at him "Now what?" He gave her a bouquet of white orchids, that made her raise an eyebrow "Well, this is a surprise" she thought. She kept her face unreadable while she walked towards Voldemort. Once she got there, he nodded to the official to start the ceremony. As soon as Voldemort reached the golden binding ropes, they heard a loud noise, something between a crash and an explosion, not that far away from them. 

Someone arrived to the gathering screaming "We are under attack! Take cover!" That is all that was needed to create Panic and Chaos. Voldemort was furious. He shouted "Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle come with me. Wormtail, make sure nothing happens to my precious bride." The stranger that arrived shouting came to them and said to Pettigrew "We better hide her, they might be looking for her." Peter smiled and said "It's a good idea. Follow me." As soon as they got out of eyesight, Cari heard the stranger say "Stupefy!" She turned toward the stranger, who winked at her and said "It's me, Harry. Let's get out of here, fast!" She was still looking at him suspiciously, but knew it was him as soon as she saw the invisibility cloak. 

They kept running through the castle grounds under the invisibility cloak, making sure that they did not bump with anyone in the process. They arrived to a small clearing, where she saw Hermione, Ron and Dumbledore creating madness around them. Dumbledore stopped and said "Good, you are here. It is time for us to go. Hold hands, please." and disappeared, not without been spotted by Voldemort before they did. 

Voldemort quickly followed suit, knowing that time was of the essence. As soon as they arrived safely in Hogwarts, Dumbledore took the illusion spell from Harry, and proceeded to put back the spell against apparating in the school, but it was too late. In that instant Voldemort appeared with Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle. Voldemort shouted "You will pay for this!" and lifted his wand, when they heard a voice behind them "Oh no, you don't" and they saw a round crystal fly in direction of Voldemort and company, making them disappear in the midst of glitter. 

When they turned around, they saw a tall man, long blond hair in spikes, wearing black boots, black tights, and a crimson velvet shirt with a black breastplate, and a black cape. His eyes were mismatched, one blue, and the other one hazel. The boys looked at him with curiosity, while Hermione looked at him starry-eyed. Dumbledore and Cari could not suppress a chuckle at their expressions. Dumbledore had a very intense twinkle in his eyes when he said "Well, I had my suspicions of who you are, and you have confirmed them. What are you going to do with them, Goblin King?" The Goblin King looked at Dumbledore, blue eyes meeting mismatched ones, and said "I might have fun with them, and probably I will erase this little 'incident' from their minds as well." He then turned to Caridwen and very seriously said "You and I will have a little chat later" and disappeared. The only thought in Cari's mind was "Oh, boy. I'm in trouble now." 

**A/N: **For those of you who don't know who the guy is, is Jareth, King of the Goblins from the movie Labyrinth (played by none other than David Bowie). If you have not seen this movie, rent it and watch it, I just rediscovered it not that long ago on TV (I went to see it at the movie theater a loooong time ago, and he still looks great in tights!). I'll stop rambling now. On with the story!!!!   


Harry just came out of his shocked state and said "Is this it? Is he gone?" Dumbledore said "I'm afraid is not that easy. He is breaking the rules of interfering with mortal life as it is. I suspect we will see more of Voldemort in the future, unfortunately. But for now, I suggest you go to your house and rest, it has been a long day." 

Once in their common room, Harry and Cari were talking in their favorite corner. Cari told Harry about the clone, and Harry told Cari everything that happened after they 'rescued' her. Cari said to Harry "Can you forgive me? I acted stupidly, and put your lives in danger." Harry just smiled and said "Of course I forgive you. I love you." She smiled back and said "I love you too." He pulled her closer to him and kissed her, knowing that everything will be alright now, because they were together at last. Inside Harry's embrace, Cari was frowning, immersed in her thoughts "What does he want to talk about? I hope I didn't mess up the mission." 

Harry and Cari kept cuddling in the corner until they were the last ones in the common room. Harry suddenly turned to Cari and asked her "How come the Goblin King wants to talk to you?" Cari just shrugged, and as soon as Harry was distracted she motioned her hand over his head. Harry tried to suppress a yawn, and Cari told him "It's late. You better go to sleep. Good night." And dismissed him with a quick peck on the lips. She made the motion that she was going to her rooms as well, when she caught the sight of a white owl in the window. 

She opened the window and the owl flew in, changing from an owl to a man in the midst of glitter. She smiled and said "It's nice to see you again, Goblin King." He just looked at her very seriously and said "Do you have any idea of what you have done? The danger you were in? Even now, I have to make a spell to make anyone involved forget this little incident. Not to mention that when your mother found out what happened, she was worried sick. What do you have to say for yourself, young lady?" 

Cari just looked at the floor and said "I'm sorry, father. I have been careless, but I won't do it again." Then she turned her head up to meet his gaze "Please don't send me back home, please?" He just smiled and said "You can stay, but if you cause any more trouble, is back to the underground for you. Do you understand?" She nodded and he gave her a big hug "I missed you, my princess." "And I missed you, father. Please tell mother that I love her and miss her? And tell that brother of mine to get ready for this summer, I intend to kick his royal…" and paused when she saw her father's face, "…tights?" earning a chuckle from him. 

"It's time to erase the memory of the incident. You will be a regular student at Hogwarts, never was a ghost, you have been with your friends since the beginning. You stay with your parents during summer breaks. I'm also sad to say that I will have to erase certain swim in the Bog of Eternal Stench for some people." Cari looked at her father with an arched eyebrow and smiled, a mental picture of Voldemort, Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle taking a swim in the Bog, being annoyed by Sir Didymus. "You know what we need to do. Are you ready, my dear?" "Yes father." They both turned their hands, and a crystal ball formed in each of them. They let them go, floating in the air like bubbles and bursting in a rain of colors. 

"Well, I think that pretty much does it. It's late, and you should be in bed" the king said. "Father, please say hi to uncle Hoggle, uncle Ludo and uncle Diddy for me, will you?" Cari said, with tears in her eyes. Jareth sighed, and gave a hug to his daughter "You know I will. Now, go to sleep." He kissed his daughter's forehead, and transformed himself back into an owl, flying out the window. Cari closed the window, and went back to the 5th year girl's dormitory. 

Sarah was watching her daughter sleep peacefully through the mirror. She turned to her husband "Jareth, does she really have to live like a witch on Earth?" Jareth held his wife and said "You know our daughter is destined to find the protector of our realm, and if he is this Harry Potter, she has to prepare him for his future task. But that, my darling, is another story."   
  
  
  


The End? 

  
****

**A/N: ** I also have a short story based on this, which you would probably like. You know? Because I feel generous, I will include it as a bonus!   
  
  


**Voldie and the Bog of Eternal Stench**

"What is that smell?" "It doesn't smell, it stinks!" "I cannot even describe it, it's the worst I have ever experienced!" "Would you please shut up and let me think how are we going to get out of here?" Voldemort said, looking murderously to his minions Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle. They were standing precariously on top of a big rock in the middle of the Bog of Eternal Stench. They had been stripped of their wands, and even Voldemort could sense that they had been stripped out of their magic as well. 

Suddenly, a mocking voice could be heard "Well, well, what did the owl dragged in?" The four of them looked at the direction of the rich, mocking voice. Voldemort thought that the figure looked familiar for some reason, but could not place it. Suddenly, flashbacks from a previous life came suddenly back to him, and his fury could not be contained "You! You promised me your daughter in marriage, and this is how you repay me?" 'So, he does remember me' thought Jareth with amusement. "If I remember correctly, we agreed that I would give you my daughter's hand in marriage IF and only IF you wan our game. As I recall, you lost fair and square." 

Voldemort yelled back "How is that fair when there was no answer?" Jareth simply responded with a smug grin, and adjusting his gloves said "You should know by now, things are not always what they seem in this place. Your answer was staring at you in your face all the time." Voldemort looked back at the Goblin King, thought about what he said for a minute, and then muttered "Damn! That was the answer…" 

Voldemort then asked, "So, what are we doing here?" Jareth answered "You broke your promise, so you are going to be punished." "Promise? What promise?" said a now worried Voldemort. He did not like the turn this conversation was taking. "You promised to leave my daughter alone. But no, you decided to make her your wife anyway. She had a different opinion, so you made her a ghost when she defeated you the first time. She comes back hundreds of years later, and you decide to use her to settle your petty mortal scores and power trips. There is so much patience I have, and you just crossed the threshold. Oh, I think you should know that there is a reason the Bog of Eternal Stench has the word ETERNAL in it. Enjoy your swim!" and he vanished, leaving a cruel laugh behind and a mocking remark "Such a pity…. Not!" 

After the Goblin King disappeared, they heard a roar, similar to an animal dying, at the same time, the rock they were standing on started to sink. Crabbe asked Goyle "What did he meant by eternal?" The answer came to them at the same time, four pair of eyes looking at each other in horror. 

At the Throne Room in the Castle Beyond the Goblin City…… 

The king was lounging comfortably in his throne, laughing at something he was looking at in a crystal ball. The queen chose to enter at that moment, amused to see her husband laughing so hard that tears were coming out of his eyes. The king noticed that his wife was looking at him, an arched eyebrow questioningly, and he said between fits of laughter, "I'm sorry. I can't help it. There he is, the most feared Evil Lord in the wizarding world, shreaking like a schoolgirl in the BOES. It is a shame that I will have to reverse the effects, and the memories. The queen approached her husband, and with an evil grin she said "Ah, but there is nothing in the laws saying that the stench cannot go away gradually, is it?" 

Now was the king's turn to have an evil smirk. "Sarah, my dear, I knew there was a reason why I fell in love with you." She smiled, and simply answered "I know, we are well matched, you and I." He embraced his wife and kissed her passionately. At that moment, Prince Jareth (Jay, to his family and friends) came to the throne room, and looking at his parents he smiled, they were going to be late for this meeting. He cleared his throat, announcing his presence. Sarah reluctantly separated from her husband and said "Jareth, you don't want Jay and I to be late, do you?" He looked at her and said, I know how tedious this Gringotts meetings can be. But as chairperson, and CEO you have to go." "How did you convinced me to become CEO, I will never know", she responded, smiling again. "Uh, mom? We better leave now, if you want to make the meeting" said a nervous Jay. Sarah turned and kissed her husband goodbye. 

The Goblin King could not help hearing their conversation while they were fading to Earth. "Ok, we are leaving now. What is on the schedule for today?" "One of our best curse breakers discovered some extremely rare artifacts in Egypt." "Oh, what is this curse braker's name?" "I think is Weasley…"   
  
  


**A/N:** Well, I would like for you to review and tell me if you liked this or not ::flinches and waits for the rotten tomatoes to arrive::. The prequel is out there (A possible new series with a crossover may be on the works, depending on your suggestions and comments, you know, post TFG). Sooooooooooooo please, read & review and let me know what you think. Pretty please?   
Just leave a contribution in the little box.


End file.
